Rainy Day …

… brings out huge slugs!! This guy was probably three inches long, hanging onto the wall just outside my door. It was actually after dark when I took the picture, so I couldn’t see the cool spotted pattern til it showed up in the flash. Pretty neat, huh?

Birds and Boats

Looking out over the water from Navy Yard.

Spring = new life!

I took this at work today (yay for days when the picture comes to you!). The administration actually had to send out an email a while back to tell people not to feed the geese as they can fend for themselves. As everyone knows, mother geese are quite defensive, and this family has nested close to one of our entrances. They’re also not terribly photogenic as they tend to turn and go the other way every time you get close … and mama goose hisses at you.

Anyways, continuing a theme this week, another beautiful thing about DC in the spring!

A smidge of history

What is a mule doing in downtown DC, you might ask? I was sure surprised … we stumbled across this fellow just off a Potomac canal in Georgetown.

Turns out, this is just part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, an important waterway back in the day. Built between 1825 and 1850, it stretches 185 miles and connects the Potomac with the Ohio River! (I’m from Ohio, so I appreciate this heroic effort to connect Ohio to the outside world.) The entire Canal, from what I understand, now belongs to the Park Service and is a National Historic Park. The mules used to help pull the boats through the locks, but now mostly seem to pose for pictures. The locks on the canal still work, and you can take a boat ride up the canal for just five dollars! Otherwise you can stay on shore and take pictures for free.

At the dog park

Just down the street from my house.

Hippo yawn

Hippo

So I’ve heard that hippos are one of the deadlier animals out there, mainly because they are both very unpredictable and very strong (with big teeth). Typically at the zoo they just loll around in the water, but this guy was up and about, nosing around his ball and showing off his teeth. It really was quite intimidating, and enough to convince me I never want to encounter an angry hippo …

Bear sloth!

I’m not sure why, but I think these are the coolest animals. Also taken at the National Zoo this weekend.

Another panda

Because I’m pretty sure you can never have too many …

Happy panda

Today I made the trek over to the National Zoo and discovered that the animals (at least some) love the 40 degree weather! This is Tai Shan, the baby panda who was born at the Zoo in the summer of 2005. Today he was munching away for quite some time, right in front of the observation area. You can see the pandas live by going here!
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On a personal note, I apologize for the break this week – it’s been hectic lately but I’m doing my best to stick with this!

Fuzzy

My friend’s puppy, who I take for walks in the afternoons …